A Peace-Full Way to End a Good Day

Tuesdays are my days off, and I generally take them either pretty seriously or pretty frivolously, and either way is good. Yesterday was full of both. First, I found myself at an incredible lunch and fundraiser for YouthCare, a charity that helps homeless youth. The Orion Center is part of their operation, and St. Bridget has had a connection with O.C. for years. But I was unprepared for seeing and meeting three "former street youth" that attended this event. One gave a talk about his own journey through being a heroin and crack addict, to going back to school to get a degree in Chemistry & being reunited with his father, who came up and embraced him at his table, right next to mine. That was followed by two young people who gave dramatic readings of their own poetry, that described their journeys and experiences.

Frankly, I was overwhelmed by the event. The night before, at our JustFaith meeting, we were beginning to review the year we've had together, and one of the questions that was asked was: "What experience made you sad?" I couldn't help but remember watching the DVD "My Own Four Walls." And then, Tuesday at that fundraiser, I just happened to run face into it again. Homelessness with children, with youth ... can't we agree that no child should have to face that?

That was followed by a good head-clearing trip to the local bowling alley... I needed that opportunity to know down a bunch of pins. I worked up a good sweat doing it, too!

But the evening was serious again, not emotional exactly but reflective. There was an open meeting at St. James Cathedral, to hear Marie Dennis speak. Marie is the co-president of Pax Christi International, and Director of the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns.

It was a very hope-filled evening. I've been a member of Pax Christi USA for a long time, but there hasn't been a chapter in Seattle for several years. Last night's meeting (with 60-80 people there, I think) might have raised enough energy to help get a local group started.

Since it's the Easter season, I thought that this quote would be very worth sharing, from the document Called to Be Peacemakers, developed by Pax Christi USA via a long process of dialogue called the People's Peace Initiative Project:

Our theological reflection on the challenges of peace begins with our own encounter with the Risen Christ. It is our encounter with Jesus that shapes our understanding of peace. It is our experience of the Risen Christ in our families and communities that gives expression to that faith. That faith then impels us to look at the world and to examine the obstacles to peace.
Our society has increasingly come to believe that violence can be redemptive. Violence is thought to have the power to conquer or save us from evil and to establish justice. The power of violence seems more seductive each day as it becomes the preferred way to resolve conflicts.
However, violence in all of its forms is sinful because it destroys human dignity and the common good. When violence becomes institutionalized—as poverty, war, or racism—it becomes a form of idolatry, denying the sovereignty of God and the redeeming power of Jesus Christ’s love. As in the Gospel of John, instead of truth, we get lies; instead of light, darkness; instead of freedom, slavery; instead of life, death.

Homily for Good Shepherd

Here's the actual homily I referred to on my post of late Friday night. Again, comments are welcome, here or via e-mail at the parish address. If you want to refer to the material posted about the Pope and the recent troubles with the Church, that is the post from Friday night, "'Good Shepherd Sunday' -- Inglorious Irony?"

Good Shepherd Sunday, 2010
4th Sunday of Easter (C)
Annual Catholic Appeal "Education Sunday"

Good morning. It’s a pleasure once again to be with you. Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, always on the 4th Sunday of Easter time, and as I’m sure you know, the term “shepherd” is a term many use for the bishops of our Church; that’s why they carry around that crosier, that “shepherd’s staff.” And so, when I say the words “good shepherd,” I’m also pretty sure that reminds most of you about the troubles that many of our Catholic shepherds have had internationally over the past several weeks, including Pope Benedict himself.

I can’t let that “Good Shepherd” phrase hang out there, in some kind of inglorious irony! I was very pleased that Fr. Tim last week reminded us that we in the US Church faced this trouble 8 years ago, and that Seattle has for 25 years been an example for the rest of the country. We’ve had our problems here in Seattle; but the policies and programs established here have created a climate in this Archdiocese where everyone knows that this criminal activity will not be tolerated. But what is unwinding right now in Europe and other places across the globe… it pains us all.

I’ve talked with many of you about this, and I know you talk with each other and with your neighbors. We all grieve for the victims, and their families… but Catholics everywhere are also hurt, and angry, and grieve because our Church been betrayed by those bishops who knew this activity was going on but kept it quiet, and thus allowed it to happen again. And this hurt will not begin to heal until our Pope, whatever he knew at the time – I don’t know what he knew – this hurt will not heal until Pope Benedict publicly says that he is deeply sorry and personally ashamed that this happened within his own Archdiocese when he was Archbishop of Munich, and that as pope he will do whatever is in his power to make sure that no one ever abuses the position of shepherd again.

Now, I know I’ve gotten you all riled up here this morning. I’m not going to say any more about this right now. I’ve posted a lot about this on my blog late Friday night …. I welcome your comments there.

I think this needed to be said today, in the context of Good Shepherd Sunday… but now I want to go somewhere else with this. You see, my shepherd is not any bishop. My shepherd is not the pope. My shepherd is Jesus Christ. He’s the Good Shepherd. It’s HIS voice I listen for – it is His voice I know and follow. And my faith, my life, is to be a disciple of Jesus, to learn to serve others as he did. That’s what I’ve given my life for! But it’s not something I could do alone -- even if I wanted to. It’s something I do with you – and with you – and with you – and with you. This is OUR faith! We live it out together, in this parish, and within this diocese. The works of the Church here at St. Bridget are not Fr. Tim’s – they’re ours. Whatever the talents of the pastor, the deacon, or the staff -- it is all only as good as we all make it: our schools, our regular prayer & worship here, our outreach to others, our efforts to be well-formed in our faith – even our Auction next Friday. If we’re half-hearted in supporting these things, they don’t work.

And the diocese is exactly the same way. Together as a diocese we can follow Jesus and serve others in ways that no individual parish can do alone. It’s the wider Church, and we have an important role in our wider community.

Today also just happens to be what they call “Education Sunday” for the Annual Catholic Appeal. This is about our work in this wider community, and it is not a “chore” at all to talk about it. Read this booklet that’s in our bulletin today, about what the Appeal supports.

One of the brightest lights is Catholic Community Services, the largest service provider in the state of Washington, outside of state government itself, with 12 family centers in communities all over Western Washington, and 3 other specialized service systems besides.
We canalso be proud of Catholic Housing Services, which provides permanent housing in 45 different sites, and shelter for the homeless too, in places like Sacred Heart Shelter, the Matt Talbot Center, the St. Martin de Porres Shelter, Benedict House, Rose of Lima House… on and on!
Our Schools Department supports 59 Catholic elementary schools and 9 Catholic high schools, and does it far more cost-effectively than any government administration around.
This appeal supports Campus Ministry centers… CYO and other youth and young adult activities… Pastoral Care programs – you probably didn’t know that we now have a part-time bi-lingual Catholic chaplain at Children’s Hospital, so that our ministry there now reaches families in ways that I’ve never been able to. This, and all the rest, thanks to the Annual Catholic Appeal.

And the Appeal supports the internal structures of our Catholic community too, in very vital ways. It provides seminarian training for young candidates like EJ, who has been with us this past year; deacon formation and training, so that there’ll be people to replace me somewhere down the line; priest services and continuing formation of clergy, so veterans like Fr. Tim will continually get renewed and refreshed. The Appeal meets our moral and legal obligations to retired priests and sisters – people like Fr. Lane, Fr. Quigg, Fr. Connole, Fr. Morelli, the Cabrini sisters, the Tacoma Dominicans, and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace – this Appeal supports the people who have been there for us, in the times we need to be there for them.

All this, and a lot more – 63 different programs. I say again, read this booklet, and be proud of what we can do together as followers of Jesus, to build the kingdom of God. It’s what we can do – but we do have to want to do it.

This Tuesday, our parish office will mail out a letter to you for this appeal. In fact, you may already have gotten a letter and an envelope from the Archbishop, about the Annual Catholic Appeal – I did, just last Monday. You may not know this, but the Chancery has cut three million dollars from its central budget in the last three years, and faces still another cut of $450,000 this time around. In the Archbishop’s letter, he acknowledged the financial difficulties many people face – but he still asked me to consider increasing my contribution by $50. I’ve made the decision to increase my own pledge this year by $200, and I hope you will join me inasmuch as you are able.

I think that our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the Easter Church, said it very well, when Paul speaks these words for the Lord: “I have made you a light to the world, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.” Let’s together be that light, that instrument of God’s love and salvation to the rest of Western Washington and beyond.

Deacon Denny Duffell
April 25, 2010

"Good Shepherd Sunday" -- Inglorious Irony?

This weekend is both Education Sunday for the Annual Catholic Appeal in the Archdiocese of Seattle, and also the 4th Sunday of Easter, or "Good Shepherd" Sunday. I find I can't just talk about the first without directly addressing the tragic irony of the second.

I'll post my homily here on Monday -- it's already written -- but for the benefit of any parishioners who might check this web site (since I encourage that in my homily this weekend) I'd like to give a bit of background. My sense is that I've followed the news items on this a LOT more closely than most of my parishioners, both because my wife is professionally very knowledgeable about (child) sexual abuse and because in the late '80's I reported on a priest in the Seattle Archdiocese, which became very public knowledge when things "blew up" about these cases nationally in 2002.

First, I would urge my parishioners to read my blog of March 27th, in which I reference John Allen's fine reporting on this topic. John Allen for years has written the "Vatican beat" for the National Catholic Reporter, and his knowledge and coverage of the Vatican is simply unparalleled in this country, in my humble opinion! In my 3/27 post I reference three major points that are either misreported or simply unreported in the current windstorm. Allen insists on accuracy first! I also quote the editorial position of his paper, which was published at the same time as his column. The NCR calls on the pope to "directly answer questions, in a credible forum, about his role -- as archbishop of Munich (1977-82), as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982-2005), and as pope (2005-present) -- in the mismanagement of the clergy sex abuse crisis." That one sentence crystalized the situation for me.

To follow that up, I would like to briefly list the following links and quotes for my parishioners or others to check out, all written by John Allen:

*His column of 3/26, “Keeping the record straight on Benedict and the crisis." This was referenced above and in my earlier blog.

**His 4/2 column on “Is middle ground possible on the Pope?” I was tempted to post that column here in its entirety, but the link will do. In this column Allen lists several other interviews he has given on this topic, which I do want to mention here. They are:

1. New York Times op/ed piece on Sunday, March 28
2. On-line chat for the Washington Post on Tuesday, March 30
3. The Charlie Rose Show on Wednesday, March 31
4. Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday, April 1
5. Southern California Public Radio on Wednesday, March 31
6. NPR’s Talk of the Nation on Monday, March 29

**His column of 4/16, "Can a teaching Pope get his house in order?" In this column he affirms that "Benedict shouldn’t be the church’s problem in terms of responding to the sex abuse crisis -- he should be the answer. However much unfinished business the Catholic church may still face, the situation would be infinitely worse if then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had not kick-started the process of reform in 2001 by streamlining the system for removing predator priests from ministry." He goes on to add that "If the Vatican had an effective PR machine, they would have touted Ratzinger from the beginning as the Rudy Giuliani of the Catholic church, the guy who gave us “zero tolerance” policing and thereby cleaned up Times Square." As for the role of the media in this whole mess, he has this to say: "However much media bias may play a role in stacking the deck against the pope, it’s also true that the Vatican’s “crisis management” strategy has, if anything, made the crisis worse." Unfortunately, all too true.

**Finally, his column of 4/17, “Crisis hangs over pope…like volcanic ash," in which he discusses the Hullermann case, a priest who "came into Munich on Ratzinger’s watch, apparently without explicit restrictions on his ministry, and went on to abuse other people for which he was criminally convicted in 1986."

And lastly, I'd like to end this posting with the same way I ended on 3/27. I especially welcome any comments from my fellow parishioners at St. Bridget, here or through my church e-mail address, which is on our web site and in the bulletin!

"As disgusting and revolting as the actions of priest perpetrators have been, as damaging as those actions were to their victims and their families, the response or lack thereof by many of our Church leaders -- then and now -- has damaged our Church more. Someone I love and respect said of these recent events: 'I don't know if I can hang in there with our Church anymore; it just seems that our Institution is corrupt to the core.'

This hits me in the stomach, and in the heart."

"Moni Nonse": A Belief That Transcends Differences.

I am back in Seattle now, trying to recover from jet lag, and am still downloading pictures and sorting out the contents of my suitcase. However, I did want to post here the homily I gave last Sunday at the main Mass at Namitembo.

I wanted to speak with everyone about our relationship. Any time anyone from St. Bridget comes to Namitembo, we are royally welcomed, and profusely thanked -- so much so, in fact, that I think often that those visiting are a little embarrassed! I wanted to make sure that the people of Namitembo knew how much WE appreciated THEM. This homily was written with that in mind.

I had written the homily word-for-word, for the benefit of the man translating my homily into Chichewe. I would read a couple of sentences in English and then pause for the translation. I had to let my inflection and body language speak far more expressively than my words, which were not understood until the translation came a few seconds later. It was an interesting exercise in communication. I was surprised and delighted that the community was so very attentive in following both my English words and the translation.

2nd Sunday of Easter; Namitembo, Malawi

Moni Nonse! Nonse, Muli Bwino? Ndiri Bwino, zikomo. I sincerely wish I could speak more of your language than that; please forgive me.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to visit with you, and to share a few words with you today. I am also especially thankful to Fr. Owen for allowing me to give the homily today, to speak about our scripture and apply this gospel to the circumstances of this visit. Zikomo, Owen.

Our gospel today comes from St. John’s gospel, and it is very special, one of the Resurrection stories. As you heard, it takes place as Jesus appears to his apostles on Easter Sunday evening. The apostles are very afraid, and they have locked all the doors out of fear. They have heard that the body of Jesus was no longer in the tomb, and they have heard from Mary Magdalene that she saw Jesus alive, raised from the dead. All of a sudden Jesus himself appears to them, and they are filled with wonder and rejoicing, and while they are rejoicing, Jesus gives them wonderful gifts. He offers them the gift of the Holy Spirit; he offers them the gift of forgiveness; and he offers them the gift of peace. In fact, three times, he gives this gift of peace to them.

But one of the apostles is not there – Thomas. The rest of the apostles are filled with joy and excitement, and when Thomas joins them again later, they tell him, “We have seen the Lord!” But Thomas just cannot believe it – you heard the gospel. He says “Unless I place my own fingers in the nail holes in his hands, and place my own hand in his side, then I cannot believe he is alive.” Thomas could not believe. He knew Jesus was a powerful prophet. He even saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, so that he knew Jesus even had power over death. He heard and saw the excitement from his fellow apostles when they told him Jesus was alive. But still, he could not believe.

This scripture passage is about faith – faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is about our belief that Jesus still lives today – that he lives in the Eucharist, that he lives in the Holy Word, and that he lives “wherever two or three are gathered” in his name. But this scripture can also teach us about other beliefs; and I would like to speak with you today about one belief in particular.

I know at first that there were people in both your community here at Namitembo, and in my community back at St. Bridget in Seattle who did not believe that our friendship could be possible. After all, we are nearly 20,000 kilometers apart. We are separated by a great ocean. And our lives – our lives are different in many ways. I know that Fr. Owen himself was not sure that this would be a good idea. He knew that this idea of friendship might just become one richer parish sending a gift of money to the poorer parish once or twice, with nothing more to the friendship. He did not want a relationship based on money, and he did not want us to start something that would fall apart after a year or two.

In Seattle there were also those who found it difficult to believe. When our pastor, Fr. Quigg, first presented this idea to our Pastoral Council over thirteen years ago, the Council did not approve the idea right away. Do you remember what they did? They insisted first on meeting someone from Namitembo, because they had so many questions, starting with the simple question of “Where is the country of Malawi?" … but then there were more important questions, such as: “Who are the people of Namitembo, and what are their lives like?”

In our gospel today, when Thomas finally meets the risen Jesus, Jesus is very gentle and loving to him. Jesus does not scold him for his lack of faith. He simply wants Thomas to believe, and so he calls on Thomas to place his fingers in the nail marks in his hands, and then his hand into Jesus’ side. Jesus obviously loved Thomas very much, and helped him to believe. And so Thomas then makes that wonderful profession of faith, saying, “My Lord and my God.” And in this same way, Jesus has helped our two communities to grow closer together, to know one another, to share in each other’s lives. He has guided us every step of the way.

Now our gospel also talks about gifts: the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of forgiveness, and the gift of peace. And so that raises, for us here today, a subject that perhaps you have wondered about. Perhaps you sometimes feel that the people of Namitembo have received more gifts from this friendship of ours, than the people of St. Bridget have received. For example, yesterday we celebrated the dedication of the Namitembo Trade and Agriculture School. It is an excellent school. I can confidently say that any student who goes through this school and works hard to learn those skills will be able to find a job that will support himself and his family - or herself and her family. Education is a great gift. Education opens the doors of hope to the future. And it has been a great honor for us at St. Bridget to be your partner in helping to provide this gift for the future of your young people, for the future of your community.

But I must quickly and solemnly tell you that you have indeed given us great gifts as well. It is especially clear when I look at the lives of those from my parish who have come here to Namitembo. The other night I tried to add up the number of those visits… and I lost count, at around 65 visits! Those visits included first our pastor and our Pastoral Council president, at the very beginning of our relationship. Some of those many visits brought here people who were so touched by your lives that they became generous donors. Many of the visitors were our youth, starting in 2002 with a visit by a group of 5 young people. One of them was Colleen Mallahan, sitting over there, visiting with you now for the 3rd time. There have been at least nine visits where parents came here with their children, including Jim Mallahan, his wife and all his children, and including my own visit with my wife Joan and daughter Janice in 2004, and again a visit with my son John four years ago. And some of these visits were completely, absolutely delightful – I am thinking of Bob Leong and his wife Diane, who came here to Namitembo to be married! Were any of you there for that wedding? I saw pictures – what a joy-filled day that was!

I remember several years ago, something that Jim said to Fr. Owen after Colleen’s first trip here. Jim said, “What have you, and Namitembo, done to my daughter?!” I’m sure that either one of them would be happy to tell you his meaning. You see, every one of these visits has changed our lives deeply. We have been touched by your warmth and welcome, and by your spontaneous and generous hospitality. We have been witness to how difficult everyday life is here, and yet, how easily you are generous and joyful; and this has caused us to look into our own lives, and become more grateful to God, and more open and generous. We love that our two peoples can come from such different backgrounds and yet enjoy simple things together, like a meal, or a football [soccer] game, or singing, or worship. You make it easier for us to be drawn outside of ourselves, to become better people, and for this, we are deeply thankful to you. There is no amount of money that could repay you for what we have learned from you. I can honestly say that you have given us much more than we have given you.

And finally, I must add that you have also given so much to many, many other people who have never met you, and probably never will. At the end of the gospel Jesus says, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and have believed.” Those of us who have been to visit Namitembo have seen, and believe; we believe in our friendship. And we have not kept this good news to ourselves. Every time we go back to St. Bridget, we are your witnesses to our families, our friends, and our parish; we tell the stories of our visit with you. There are many others who have not seen, and yet have believed. You have made us a better parish, and our parish family is grateful for it.

God Bless you all! We pray for you whenever we worship! Zikomo!

Deacon Denny Duffell, April 11, 2010

Namitembo Revisited!

I arrived here in Namitembo on Wednesday (April 7th)! Namitembo is one of the villages in rural Malawi, which is a small country in southeast central Africa. It is also the name for the whole (Catholic) parish area, encompassing 15-20 thousand people, with one central church and seven other "outchurches." St. Bridget has had a partnership with the people of Namitembo parish for the last 13 years, and this is my fifth visit here. The immediate reason for my visit is the official dedication of NAMTAS tomorrow (Namitembo Trade and Agriculture School). The Minister of Education for the whole country of Malawi will be on hand to "cut the ribbon," as well as the bishop and several other noteworthy individuals, in addition to -- believe it or not -- the Malawi media! TVM (TV Malawi) will be here, among others. This is big news!

This project is fabulous -- there is nothing else like it in rural Malawi. Right now I am typing this post in the "Internet Cafe," which is next door to the computer lab on one side and a tailoring classroom on the other. Further down this row of classrooms is another tailoring room, and around the corner of the square are three other large buildings, for bricklaying and carpentry/joinery. Across the square from those rooms is the central administrative block, with staff offices, and a library -- then the large multipurpose main hall (for dining especially, but other possible uses) -- then the boys hostel, currently with rooms for 24 students although it will soon house more, and including flush toilets and shower areas (which really is a pretty big deal, since most of rural Malawi is without running water or electricity).

Looking over my computer and out the window I can see a row of four duplexes -- and very nice homes they are, with electricity and running water -- for teacher housing. Further down that row there is a large women's hostel, again with flush toilets, showers and a cooking/food preparation area. Still further down there are two more nice houses, for the Administrator and his assistant.

Behind the administrative block there is a water tower, where I'm going to climb sometime during my visit, to get good "overview" pictures to bring home. Then behind the water tower there is a large building that functions as a nursing school and child care center, serving both the students of NAMTAS as the Namitembo CD Secondary School, with its three large classroom areas beyond the perimeter of NAMTAS. Still beyond that are the three large classroom blocks of Namitembo CD Secondary School itself, and several teachers' homes beyond that.

If you kept going beyond the high school and housing you would reach a road (of course it's not paved, silly -- this is rural Malawi!) that leads to the left back to the large classrooms blocks and separate hall of Namitembo Elementary School, with more teacher housing still further on down the road.

Does it sound like a lot? It should! And with the exception of the nursery school, St. Bridget has been involved in providing the funds for building or rebuilding every one of those buildings over the last 13 years. And NAMTAS is the "crowning jewel" of everything.

If I can figure out how to post a few pictures tomorrow or the next day, after the big blowout celebration tomorrow, I'll let you see how things look. For now, we're all running around trying to get last-minute preparations. The celebration should last a good 4-5 hours, including blessing the buildings and a bunch of speeches. I'm giving one too, but it'll be short!